Mass Effect: Revival
by Deathzealot
Summary: Two years after her death at the hands of the Collectors Alexandra Jane Shepard is woken up by a new unknown group needing her help in taking down the Collectors, the Reapers, and maybe even Cerberus as well while they were at it. A "what if..." story that sees Shepard getting the help and support of a group that is not Cerberus during the events and story of Mass Effect 2.
1. Introduction

**Disclaimer: I do declare that I do not in any way own the Mass Effect Game Series, including the plot and any of its characters. They are all owned by Bioware sadly, but I do admit to own some of my own created material for the purpose of this story including new characters and items. With this said I do not have any money to give any lawyers and money I have is for my savings. Thank you. **

**Mass Effect: Revival**

**Part One of the Lazarus Rising Series **

_An Alternative Universe Story,_

_Based in the Mass Effect Universe _

_Written by,_

_William R. Woods_

_"Deathzealot"_

_"Deathzealotzero"_

**Foreword **

I like to welcome you to my very first Mass Effect Fanfiction story, one that shall hopefully bridge my way into this particular fandom. Basically I never had been a very large fan of the franchise till only recently when I started to read some Mass Effect Fanfiction which saw me looking into starting to get the games. I would then manage to pick the first two games up via Steam when they were having their Summer Discount Sale which saw me playing through both of the games. I would then start coming up with my own ideas for a Mass Effect Fanfiction, which leads us to this story.

Basically this story shall follow an alternative story based around the second game where the Lazarus Cell of Cerberus leaves the organization a lot sooner than they did in the original story. It would be this group of ex-Cerberus personal that support Commander Shepard's mission to take down the Collectors after being revived. However this story is only the first of a set of stories following the new Lazarus Group as they fight against the Collectors as well as going against the main Cerberus Group and dealing with the politics of the Council and the Alliance.

That said I would like mentions some things I am going to be changing or adding to the main story of Mass Effect 2. The first is of course the Cerberus Group splintering into several small groups thanks to what they did during the first game along with a few other incidents that does see the group having some sort of Civil War. Another thing is the introduction of the thermal clips is actually an Alliance invention that is introduced soon after the First Contact War to the rest of Council Space. It is only recently that sees the thermal clip take off and be in use throughout the galaxy. The next thing would be that the majority of the Mass Effect One weapons are replaced with the weapons introduced in the last two games. There are some notable exceptions including the Spectre Weapons, the Geth Pulse Rifle, and a few minor others. As for the armor sets a few of the sets from the first game including the Colossus Armor, and several others are going to be included in the story. One major thing I wished they carried over was giving the rest of the squad in Mass Effect 2 armor as well. One last thing is that the uniforms and markings of Cerberus seen in Mass Effect 2 are actually going to be for the Lazarus Group while Cerberus will get a darker version of said uniforms and markings.

The last major thing I am going to be changing is the SR-2 _Normandy _itself basically it is no longer going to be known as the SR-2 which is taken by another _Normandy _Class Frigate constructed by the Alliance since the Battle of the Citadel. Instead the new _Normandy _will be known as a Tactical Stealth Destroyer thanks to its size therefore carries the hull marking of TSD-01. It also won't be known as _Normandy _either sad to say instead it would know by another name thanks in part to the Alliance having one of its new _Normandy _Class Frigates be known by this name, most likely the new SR-2. Also the new ship will sport a new prefix I am adding which the original SR-2 Normandy in game doesn't have unlike the original. The ship's prefix will change a few times during the story, first being known as the ISV, or Independent Space Vessel, before getting a few other prefixes as the story goes on. However that said I am going to change some of the interior spaces of the ship for some of the stuff I didn't really agree with, basically there is actually six decks instead of five, with deck one still being the Captain's Cabin but now includes the XO Cabin along with a few other smaller cabins, deck two still pretty much the same, deck three will be the main crew deck which sports a couple more crew quarters then just the one, deck four is no longer engineering but instead sports some of the secondary rooms including the forward battary and other notable support areas, deck five is now engineering along with the cargo spaces, and finally deck six is the hanger plus a few other small goodies as well including a secondary armory. Finally I am removing the Sleep Pods from the design which I never understood the reasoning having them there when they have regular crew quarters. Instead the space where the pods were along with the old forward battery run are taken up by a new "Marine Country" where the ship's security and secondary troops stay along with their own lounge area which includes a full on gym.

All that said I am going to mention one last item and that is a warning that I am a big fan of the Quarians therefore expect a slightly different Migrant Fleet in this story for some of the stuff I really didn't like about them in the game. I really don't know why I like them, maybe because they are the underdog of the series or something like that. That said I know the Quarians are not all that popular in some circles but I really like them. While they won't be a big thing in this particular story they shall have a larger part in later stories of the set. Like the new Normandy I am going to try to get together a Codex to explain the changes to the Fleet that I am making.

With that done I shall see about getting this story started and I do apologize for the super-long foreword but I don't really expect everyone to read it. Thank you and enjoy the story.

**Overview **

Basically this little section I have written up to explain Shepard and their needed backstory somewhat since that seems like something the readers like to know while reading Mass Effect Fanfiction. The following is similar to the screen seen at the start of an imported game from Mass Effect One to Mass Effect two. Some of these are taken from my own played game of Mass Effect while others I kind of mixed around.

**Sex**: Female  
**Full Name**: Alexandra Jane Shepard, goes by Jane or Shepard  
**Class**: Commando – with some stuff from Engineer  
**Biotic:** No  
**Virmire Survivor**: Kaidan Alenko  
**Wrex**: Alive  
**Morality**: Paragade – About 60% Paragon / 40% Renegade  
**Pre-Service Background:** Spacer  
**Military Background**: War Hero  
**Zhu's Hope**: Intact - With Shiala as Colony Leader and ExoGeni Pulling out  
**Cerberus Cells - Missing Marines: **Destroyed  
**Cerberus Cells - Rachni**: Destroyed  
**Rachni Queen**: Alive  
**Love Interest**: None


	2. Chapter One: Awakening

**Disclaimer: I do declare that I do not in any way own the Mass Effect Game Series, including the plot and any of its characters. They are all owned by Bioware sadly, but I do admit to own some of my own created material for the purpose of this story including new characters and items. With this said I do not have any money to give any lawyers and money I have is for my savings. Thank you. **

**Mass Effect: Revival**

**Part One of the Lazarus Rising Series **

_An Alternative Universe Story,_

_Based in the Mass Effect Universe _

_Written by,_

_William R. Woods_

_"Deathzealot"_

_"Deathzealotzero"_

**Chapter One: Awakening **

_The Lazarus Group is one of the larger Cerberus splinter groups that emerged after the brief Cerberus Civil War. While they have stronger relationship with the Alliance then the overall Cerberus Group they recently started to disavow the Alliance due to some recent decisions made by the Alliance. Even then they are far better than Cerberus…_

- _Taken from System Alliance Intelligence Report on the Lazarus Group _

-o-o-o-

**Minutemen Station  
High Orbit, Wentania  
Fortuna System, Horsehead Nebula**

_"…Wake up,"_

_"Shepard! You need to wake up right now… This facility is under attack!" _

A voice could be heard saying as she awoke with a start along with the sounds of distant gunfire and explosions. With a silent curse Alexandra Jane Shepard started to sit up in the bed she found herself in pulling aside the light blanket that covered her body. She winced as pain flared in her mid-section before looking around noticing she was in some sort of med bay one that looked to be under attack from what she could see outside of a large window that took up one wall. With explosions and fire turning the Med Bay an eerily red and orange.

"Good you are up. You should find a uniform and an Omni-tool in the locker in the corner. You should put them on," a voice called over the med-bay's loudspeakers making Shepard flinch at the volume before she nodded in understanding of the voice noticing she was in a one-piece medical gown that was common across human space. She flinched in distaste at this before swinging her legs over the edge of the bed and with some difficultly managed make her way over to the mentioned locker. It opened silently at her approach showing some sort of uniform on the rack along with a single thick wrist band she knew to be an Omni-tool. She quickly slipped the thin gown off and started to pull on the uniform noticing that it wasn't Alliance standard or anything she was familiar but still it was a uniform of some sort. Once she was dressed she slipped on the wrist band and smiled as the familiar orange holographic interface formed around her arm.

"Alright now we need to get you a weapon. There should be a weapon locker right outside of the med-bay with at least a pistol and some thermal clips," the voice mentioned over the loud speakers. Shepard only nodded before turning to look at the single door leading out of the med-bay.

"Understood lady, but I am going to need some answers when this is over," Shepard finally said flinching slightly as it started to hurt in her throat a bit making it hard to talk.

"No worries you will get those answers and more, but right now we need to get you off this station for I didn't put all this effort to put you all back together just to see you get killed again. Also be careful with your ribs for they are still healing, thankfully I had the auto-doc inject you with some pain reliever before I woke you. That said I am sorry about this for I had to wake you early and throw you right into combat," the lady explained making Shepard nod in understanding before making her way over to the door which slid open silently at her approach. As she did so she noticed as promised all of the dull pain in her mid-section started to fade as the painkillers started to kick in.

She quickly exited the med-bay where she quickly noticed a body slumped against a nearby wall. With a frown she walked over to the body and leaned down noticing the figure was wearing a lightweight T3 AEGIS Tactical Vest and T4 Ward Tactical Helmet, a cheap alternative to a full-on military hardsuit which were usually used by security or police agencies throughout the galaxy. She quickly managed to strip the vest off the body and quickly managed to put it on herself thankful that it didn't have any damages not to mention that these vests happened to be one size fits all. She looked back at the body and could only sigh seeing that the helmet was a total right off. That done she finished strapping the vest one and quickly entered a couple of commands via her Omni-tool making the vest started to hum as its paltry kinetic barriers started to kick in making her nod pleased that at least she had some sort of protection. She also noticed a lightweight M-9 Tempest Sub-Machine Gun not far from the body which she quickly picked up it noticing that it is equipped with a new universal thermal clip system making her frown slightly for she never was a fan of the clips but it is a weapon.

"Alright lady I have a Tempest and an AEGIS Vest now what should I do," she said turning to look back into the med-bay.

"That is good but you should find a pistol and some Thermal Clips in a weapon locker along the wall," the voice called through another loudspeaker from the wall nearby making Shepard jump slightly but only nodded before quickly finding the mentioned locker. She frowned at the holographic keypad on the face of the locker but was surprised when it beeped and popped open at her approach. She blinked at this before shrugging and opening the locker to find the promised pistol and thermal clips which once again made her look at them in some distaste but quickly took them and stuffed them into one of the pouches built into the vest before picking up the pistol noticing it was a standard M-3 Predator Heavy Pistol before she slid it into the vest's pistol holster which was quite different from a standard Hardsuit holster which had it along the thigh instead of a waist holster.

With herself fully armed she backed away from the locker and turned to look at the point of the wall where she heard the woman earlier replacing the Tempest's used clip with a new one as she did so. As she looked she noticed that there was a small security camera at the spot where she heard the woman earlier and she quickly nodded to the camera as it turned to look over at her.

"Alright lady I am now armed and ready to move but I need to know a few things before I do so. Basically who is attacking this facility and anything else I may need to know before I go on. I really don't want to just stumble around and get myself killed especially if you managed to bring me back from whatever happened to me before," Shepard said to the camera with a frown and crossing her arms over the vest.

"That is fair after all, but I can't stay on for much longer for they are getting closer to my office. That said Shepard your enemies are a mix of LOKI Mark-4A and LOKI Mark-4C Security Mechs. Basically someone managed to override their programming and they are now attacking everyone in the station. You need to fight through them to get to the shuttle bay where hopefully the rest of my team shall be waiting, your Omni-tool should have the complete schematics of the station. Now I need to move before these mechs get here. Good luck Shepard," the voice managed to say in a fast pace before the red light under the camera faded making Shepard sigh wondering how he managed to get into these things before starting to jog down the hallway noticing the other rooms all where med-bays similar to the one she had awoken in as well as some small medical laboratories. When she reached the door at the end of the hallway it opened to admit a trio of human-looking LOKI Mark-4A Mechs into the hallway making her curse and to jump inside a nearby room as the Mechs spotted her and started to open fire on her with the small M-2 Striker Pistols they carried as their main weapons. She was glad these LOKIs were not of the slightly heavier Mark-4E model which carried full-on assault rifles instead of pistols along heavier shields.

She took a deep breath as she brought out the Tempest and carefully aimed around the corner sighting on the red circle that was the mech's main camera and opened fired taking out the lead unit's head which saw the rest of the body fall to the ground like a rag doll. She quickly turned her attention to the other two mechs before taking them out as well. That done she got up from her splayed position and looked around to find herself in an office of some sort. She noticed a nearby computer online and playing some sort of video of a figure of a woman reporting on something or another. Shepard quickly realized that this was the same woman that had woke her up thanks to her voice that had her heading over to the desk that computer sat on. She leaned against the desk as the woman continued on. As she listened she couldn't help but be shocked at what this Lazarus Group had done for they had basically all-out brought her back from the dead. She had thought she only had been in some sort of coma not dead like this Miranda Lawson was mentioning in her report.

"Alright that should be all of them, hopefully I can get some…" a man's voice suddenly said following the videos but a nearby explosion had her quickly exiting the office before she could hear the rest of the message. She quickly rushed through the still opened doorway and into another part of the facility.

As she continued on through yet another hallway she briefly wondered what was up with that man and those videos before almost running into yet another mech which covered the next door. She cursed when she noticed it was one slightly tougher Mark-4C models which carried a large riot shield and a shotgun. She quickly found cover of her own as the mech opened fire with its shotgun which hit the overturned conference table that she managed to hide behind.

She blinked in surprise to see yet another body in only an AEGIS Vest and the same uniform she now wore splayed behind this table and holding a clunky M-100 grenade launcher to its chest. Shepard chuckled at her good fortune and with great care took it from the dead hands of the dead figure looking at the launchers display as she did so. She flinched when she saw the launcher only having three rounds left in the launcher but quickly aimed it over her little barricade and fired off a grenade down range at the advancing mech. The small grenade managed to slip pass the riot shield just as the Mech started bring out its shotgun once more and slammed into the chest of the mech before exploding taking out the mech in a fiery explosion.

With a calm breath Shepard stood up pleased that she had timed that well enough to get around that damn riot shield before she turned back to the body with a sigh. She laid a hand on the shoulder of the body with a strained smile.

"Thanks buddy that launcher helped me out. Now I hope I managed to give you some peace," she said to the dead body before jumping over the table and looked down at her Omni-tool for the promised schematics to find that she wasn't that far from the station's shuttle bay which made her nod in relief. She felt kind of naked without a full hardsuit and her trusty rifle at her side.

As Shepard exited yet another area of the facility she noticed that she had left the medical area of the facility and was now somewhere completely different. She could see various offices and other such rooms instead of the earlier medical bays and labs. One such room looked to be a large conference room of some such which she saw had a large YMIR Series Mech in it mowing down several of the smaller LOKI Mechs with its main gun. This made her flinch back from the door before seeing that it seemed like the YMIR was actually still under control and was taking out LOKI Mechs instead of innocents facility personal. She sighed in relief at this before continuing on her way. Up ahead she heard further gunfire that sound like assault rifle fire instead of the single cracks of the pistols wielded by the LOKI Mechs.

She quickly made her way through the last few rooms and into some sort of large atrium of some sort. She looked up to see a couple of figures fighting against several other mechs just above her on another level. She smiled at this pleased that she did found someone that wasn't dead in this god awful facility before running up the nearest stairway gunning down a duo of regular Mark-4A mechs as she did so before pulling out the grenade launcher once more as she fast approached the two figures and the enemy mechs. She quickly changed the settings on the launcher before looking up at the figures.

"Get down!" she called out as she aimed the launcher towards the mechs before firing the last two grenades over the now ducking heads of the two figures and right at the enemy mechs. The two grenades exploded just short of hitting the lead mechs taking out the entire group of mechs in a single large explosion thanks to the launcher's shredder setting. With a small grin she dropped the now empty launcher before approaching the figures as they turned to look at her. That grin disappeared as her jaw drop in shock at the familiar face of one of the figures now looking at her.

"Thanks for the save Skipper," former Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams and former squad mate of Shepard said with a large grin on her face.

**-o-Chapter End-o-**

Well here is the first chapter of the story and things are already changing. First Shepard doesn't get a full on hardsuit right at the start of this chapter like she does in the game. I instead gave her a lightweight tactical vest similar to the same vest we have today just far more advanced. It basically sports a light kinetic barrier and some light armor but that is just about it. Like I mentioned in the story it is commonly used by security and law enforcement agencies for their officers. She also manages to get a gun slightly better than the basic pistol, which isn't that much better but still better than a darn pistol in my humble opinion.

Another major change is the appearance of Ashley Williams which I am sure going to some shocked replies for I mentioned earlier in the Introduction that she was wasn't the Virmire Survivor instead being Kaidan. However this shall be answered in the following chapters. That said basically the relationship between Shepard and Ashley is a bit different then what it was in the game. While they were not a couple like some modified playthroughs I have seen online they still where quite close similar to Male Shepard and Garrus stories I have seen.

Also I am quite aware the station that Shepard is awaken on is not Minuteman Station but the Lazarus Research Station but I am changing that for a reason that shall be revealed later on. That should be answered when we get to the unveiling of Shepard's new ship right before the mission to Freedom's Progress.

I also expanded on the mechs introducing different models of the LOKI and YMIR though we only see the different models of the LOKI here. Basically this comes about after I noticed the mechs at Mordin's Clinic carried assault rifles instead of the normal pistols the others had. This saw me imagining that there are different models that have slightly different missions. Here we have the Mark-4A the regular model we see in the game, and the Mark-4C a new model developed for riot suppression. The larger Mark-4E model is mentioned but not seen and it's the one we see at the Clinic in the game being equipped with a full on assault rifle and heavier kinetic barriers. I made the decision to have earlier marks thanks to their appearance in Jacob's Loyalty Mission.

All that said I believe that is about it for these notes and it's time to get to the next chapter till then Ciao!


	3. Chapter Two: Escape

**Mass Effect: Revival**

**Part One of the Lazarus Rising Series **

_An Alternative Universe Story,_

_Based in the Mass Effect Universe _

_Written by,_

_William R. Woods_

_"Deathzealot"_

_"Deathzealotzero"_

**Chapter Two: Escape**

_Minuteman Station was developed originally by Cerberus to serve as one of their major bases in the Traverse and the Terminus Systems. However during the Cerberus Civil War it would fall into the hands of the break-away Lazarus Group who use it not only as a minor base for their building space fleet but as a medical research station for the project they received their name from: Project Lazarus. It is unknown what Project Lazarus happens to be at this time…_

- _Taken from a Systems Alliance Intelligence Report_

**Main Atrium  
Minutemen Station  
High Orbit, Wentania  
Fortuna System, Horsehead Nebula**

"Ash! But you are dead…" Shepard finally managed to say after staring at the face of a woman that had been one of her closer friends on the _Normandy_. The figure of Ashley Williams only chuckled before moving towards Shepard shaking her head in mirth before sighing.

"That's true but I believe so were you if I am not mistaken," Ashley replied with a small smile on her face making Shepard snort in agreement before she started to cry as she look on the complete form of her friend.

"Oh come here you old softy," Ash mentioned with a teary-eyed smile before hugging the other woman to her both now openly sobbing.

"I'm sorry Ash…I didn't want to leave you behind…" Shepard managed to say through her sobs to the other woman who only sighed at this sniffling before grabbing Shepard's shoulders and looking down at the slightly shorter woman.

"Don't be sorry Jane I did tell you to go save the LT and his Team didn't I. I was already dead my body just didn't know it. That said I'm sorry I put you in that situation in the first place but once Kirrahe went down everything went to shit," Ashley said with a small sniffle making Shepard look up before nodding with a sigh.

"Look at us two bad-ass woman getting emotional like this," Shepard said making the other woman laugh in agreement. It's at this point that the man who had been fighting alongside Ashley minutes before cleared his throat.

"Sorry to break this up Boss, but I believe we should get to the Shuttles now. The other teams should have finished their tasks by now and waiting for us," the man mentioned making the two woman look over at him. Shepard saw that he was wearing the same combat hardsuit as Ash was, a while and orange ensemble with some black highlights that had some similarity to her old N7 Series Hardsuits. Unlike Ash he was wearing a full-face helmet that was slightly tinted but Shepard could tell the man being slightly uncomfortable by his slight fidgeting.

"You are correct Taylor especially since we have Shepard here for she is one of the major reasons this station exists after all. That said why you don't give her your rifle Jacob for you have be complaining about it ever since our trip to the armory," Ashley said after stepping away from Shepard and focusing on the man. Shepard meanwhile looked at the rifle cradle in the man's arms and her eyes lit up in pleasure seeing that it happened to be an M-96 Mattock Heavy Rifle. The Mattock had been her rifle of choice ever since she had used one during her time on Elyium during the Skyllian Blitz. When she had been made a Spectre she had outfitted the majority of her ground team with custom-built Mattocks, of which she quickly noticed was similar to the one now held by this man.

"Ash is that…?" she asked with a large grin on her face making Ashley look over at her in amusement before chuckling.

"Not quite Shepard, but pretty darn close to those rifles we had during the fight with Saren. The only real difference is the Thermal Clip System and some minor changes but other than those changes yeah it's the same Rifle," Ashley mentioned with a nod of her head before jerking heard towards Taylor once more who only sighed before passing the weapon over to the Shepard who looked down at the rifle some awe before chuckling evilly before bringing up to her shoulder. However before she could say anything both Ashley and Taylor stiffened as a burst of static sounded over their radios. Taylor quickly entered a few commands into his Omni-Tool before a hiss of static turned into a panicked voice. Shepard quickly noticed that thankfully Taylor had the message play through his Omni-Tool instead of his helmet's built in radio.

"…Check…Check. To anyone on this frequency this is Doctor Harold Wilson I am cut off from the rest of the station by numerous mechs. I need help…" the voice said over the omni-tool making the three of them frown before Ashley copied the frequency from Taylor's omni-tool and tuned her own radio to that frequency.

"Wilson. This is Williams, I am with Jacob in the D-Wing we just picked up Shepard after we cleared out the mechs here," she said in response still with a heavy frown on her face making Shepard guess something was up with this guy. She then remembered that this guy not only was part of the team putting her together thanks to her vague memories of waking up sometime earlier, but the voice she had heard earlier in that office.

"Oh thank god…wait Shepard's alive! That's great. I'm in Server Room B… and hurry!" the voice replied before cutting off making both Taylor and Williams exchanged looks before turning their attention to Shepard.

"Alright we need to get this guy Shepard, why don't you head straight for the Shuttles my other Teams should have the route clear by now," Ashley mentioned eying the AEGIS vest she wore before Shepard shook her head with a frown of her own.

"No Ash. Let me help for I think remembering hearing this guy's voice during my little nap," she mentioned making Ash sigh before nodding in agreement.

"Alright Skipper but keep behind us, for I wouldn't trust the shields on that vest all that much. I really wanted to get hardsuits for my entire team but sadly the majority of them had to make do with those vests," Ashley explained before shaking her head and nodding over to a nearby door.

"Let's move out," she said while Shepard only nodded following behind the armored forms of this Taylor and Ashley.

-o-o-o-

**Server Room B  
Minutemen Station  
High Orbit, Wentania  
Fortuna System, Horsehead Nebula**

It didn't take them long to get to this Server Room B and while the Mechs tried to cut them off they didn't last long when faced against Taylor's Shotgun and Ashley's modified Mattock Assault Rifle. Shepard could only cover their backs as they continued towards their destination picking off mechs that were trying to come in behind the group.

They then entered the room seeing a balding man sitting on the floor of the room by a destroyed computer station. The man was wincing holding onto his left leg which had a nice gunshot wound through it making Shepard wince in sympathy as they three of them rushed over to the man.

"Dammit Wilson! Haven't you been following my evacuation drills at all! You should have been with the rest of the Bio Wing Group evacuating," Ashley mentioned as they reached the man who flinched back from the anger in the woman's voice.

"I'm sorry Williams but I thought I could shut down the Mechs since I have some security clearance with being the station's Chief Medical Officer and all not to mention I am not half bad tech when I need to be," the man mentioned as Taylor kneeled next to him who quickly slapped a medigel patch onto the man's wound.

"Idiot! Miranda and I are the only ones who have the security codes for the Mechs for a good reason Wilson," Ashley barked back with an angry snarl making Shepard put a hand on her shoulder making her calm down slightly. Wilson flinched back before nodding to Taylor as the medigel started its magic on the wound and accepting the other man's help up. The doctor tested his wounded leg before nodding in relief and retrieving an M-3 pistol from beside the destroyed station.

"Alright Boss let's get the Doc here to the Shuttles they are not that far from here. You can ream him out there once we are safe from this goddamn station," Taylor mentioned waving to the door at the other end of the Server Room making Ashley nod in agreement with the man.

"This isn't over Wilson," she whispered to the man before taking lead once more and making her way towards the door while the rest of them followed behind her angered form. Shepard could only chuckle at this before once more covered their backs as they moved further into the station towards the shuttle bay. She wouldn't want to be either the mechs in their way nor the Doctor when Ash got ahold of him. That said she wasn't sure about the man for something wasn't right about this but they could deal with it once they are off this station that wouldn't stop her from keeping an eye on the man as they left the Server Room behind.

-o-o-o-

**Main Shuttle Bay **

**Minutemen Station**

**High Orbit, Wentania **

**Fortuna System, Horsehead Nebula**

A few minutes later found the group of four rushing around a corner almost to the shuttle bay just in time to see a Mark-4C LOKI falling in pieces from the precise fire from a pair of armored men flanking the opened shuttle bay door. The two wore the same armor as both Ashley and Taylor just slightly bulkier in the chest and shoulders as well as a full-face helmet with no face-shield. As the four of them came around the corner the two soldiers stiffened into readiness before calming down when they noticed they are human.

"Boss! Glad you guys made it. I was about send Durand's team back out there to find you," the man on the right of the door mentioned with a sigh of relief. Shepard blinked in shock at this for the voice sounded quite familiar to her.

"I would have throttled you for that Fredicks," Ashley mentioned with a snort before turning and nodding to the gobsmacked look on Shepard's face.

"And look you I picked up on the way," Ashley continued on with a small smile on her face and a wave towards Shepard making the two armored men gasp in surprise before they straightened as one before saluting her.

"Ma'am! Welcome back," the man on left mentioned with a gruff voice making Shepard look over at him shock for that voice was familiar as well.

"Skipper I am glad to see you up on your feet!" the other man mentioned on the tail end of his companion making Shepard blink slightly before shaking her head and saluting the two men back.

"Private Fredicks I am glad to see you are alright after all this, while Toombs you are the last person I expected to see in this station. Figured you were still on Earth trying to convince the higher ups of the threat from Cerberus," she replied nodding to the two men who nodded in return before turning their attention back to Ashley.

She knew that Fredicks was the last surviving Marine of the regular Marine Detachment onboard the _Normandy _during their hunt for Saren. During the course of the hunt the Detachment had been used to support the primary ground team during several missions as well as doing security onboard the ship. The majority of the detachment had been lost during the battle on Virmire either protecting the nuke or supporting the SRT Team's frontal attack.

Only a heavily injured Kaiden Alenko and a slightly injured Fredicks made it through the defense of the bomb before Shepard and her team arrived to rescue them. The rest of the Detachment were lost alongside Ashley as they tried to bring the last AA tower down so the _Normandy _could take off. That left only Shepard's main team for the mission on Illos and the later Battle of the Citadel.

"Anyone else still out there Toombs?" Ashley asked jolting Shepard out of her thoughts turning her attention to the group.

"Only Miss Lawson but she contacted us right before you got here saying she is on her way via an alternative way for the YMIR Mech she had with her was lost thanks something or another she refused to mention over an open channel," Toombs replied making Ashley frown in concern while Shepard noticed the look on Wilson's face making Shepard look at the man in suspension.

"What about Tyler's Team?" Ashley asked after a moment making Toombs sigh before shaking his head.

"Sorry Boss but while they managed to get their groups here they all were taken out by these mechs," the man reported making Ashley close her eyes in response before shaking her head and nodding to the rest of her group.

"Alright then let's get off this damn station before anymore mechs show up," she ordered walking through the door between the two men forcing the three others of her group to follow behind her. As they did so Shepard noticed a panel along one wall nearby the door popped open having Wilson turn to look over at it in surprise before he looked on in shock as a tall black-haired woman entered the shuttle bay with a curse. Shepard immediately recognized her as the woman that had awoken her earlier along with the person reasonable for bringing her back. However she was shocked when the woman brought up a heavy pistol and shot the shocked Wilson in the chest killing him making the others look over at her in shock.

"What the hell was that for Miranda?" Ashley called out in shock as the Wilson's body fell. The woman Miranda only sighed before holstering her pistol and leaning against the wall in some exhaustion before looking over at Ashley.

"Sorry Ashley but Wilson was the traitor who had the mechs attack us. He was also is an Agent of the Shadow Broker though it appears he also passed on the majority of the data from the Project to the Illusive Man as well. It's all there on his Omni-Tool I am sure if you want to check," the woman explained with a sigh making Ashley blink in shock at this before nodding as her face softened into a small smile on her face.

"I don't need to do that for I do trust you Miranda but next time please don't shoot first for we should have taken him alive for we may have gotten some info out of him. You are no longer Cerberus after all," she replied with as she looked down on the body of the man before shaking her head in anger then started to look around at the shuttle bay seeing the two shuttles ready for launch thanks to the nearby large viewport. Miranda only nodded tiredly at the other woman before reaching down and retrieving Wilson's Omni-Tool anyways.

"Alright let's get out of here and back to Safehold," Ashley ordered moving towards the shuttles. Shepard only looked between Ashley and Wilson's body before following behind her old squad-mate and friend towards the hatches leading to the shuttles which she was surprised to see were the large UT-49 Marmot Jump Shuttles instead of the more standard UT-46 Kodiak Drop Shuttle. These shuttles had been designed to be a long distance counterpart to the smaller Kodiak. They were designed from the ground up for long-distance FTL runs which made them popular for escape shuttles for stations out in the middle of nowhere like this. Even then not many where produced thanks to the introduction of the UT-46D model of the Kodiak which sported an FTL Drive about the same size of the one onboard the Marmot which made the larger shuttle somewhat obsolete in the scheme of things. That said it was still a popular shuttle thanks to the larger cabin over the Kodiak-D which scarified some space for the FTL Drive.

They quickly boarded the nearest Jump Shuttle which was strangely empty with only a handful of jump-suited techs who had taken seats near the forward of the cabin. Ashley quickly led their small group towards the rear of the shuttle cabin away from the chatting techs. Shepard quickly took one of the small jump seats nearest the engines while the others took nearby seats. With a sigh Shepard shed the AEGIS vest and set aside before looking over the group as they got comfortable themselves before she looked out of the window as the shuttles jumped to FTL away from that damn station. Shepard could only be relieved at this for she really did like being on that station for some reason or another.

**-o-Chapter End-o-**

Alright that was the second chapter and the Escape from the Station is quite different from the game thanks to Lazarus caring a bit more about the people on the station than Cerberus was. This is mainly thanks to Ashley who put the crew through several Evac Drills to make sure something like what happened in the game happened. That said the Group still had several losses thanks to the Mechs. These are mostly the lighter armored security types that were supporting Ashley's more heavily armored and armed primary team. Another change would be the big YMIR Mechs still be under control and helping to take down the smaller LOKI mechs. The reason behind this shall revealed in the Debriefing in the next chapter.

Also the armor worn by both Ashley and Jacob in this chapter is slightly modified Cerberus Assault Armor from Mass Effect 2 while the armor worn by the Fredricks and Toombs during the last part of the chapter is the Aegis Defensive Armor from Mass Effect Infiltrator just bearing some slight similarity to the regular Assault Armor.

That said yes the Marine Private Fredicks seen in the Embassy Bar in the first game is assigned to the Normandy. Not to mention like many fanfictions the primary _Normandy _team is not only usually all out on a mission together instead of sending a small squad of three, and they are often supported by the regular Marine Detachment of the _Normandy _when it is needed. This mostly be during the larger missions like the Virmire and a couple others I can think of on top of my head. Fredicks is also the only survivor of the Marine Detachment thanks to them being wiped out on Virmire.

To finish these notes I am adding several different vehicles and such to the story to fill in some holes I have seen in the story along with the standard stuff we see in the game. One such vehicle is the UT-49 Marmot Jump Shuttles where are larger versions of the Kodiak seen in the game just sporting a FTL Drive. Others shall been seen as the story goes on including a couple other different shuttles and other minor support craft like that. I shall see about whipping up some Codex entries to explain these new vehicles better.

That done thank you for continuing to read this story and the next chapter shall be out soon as possible thank you.


	4. Chapter Three: Questions

**Disclaimer: I do declare that I do not in any way own the Mass Effect Game Series, including the plot and any of its characters. They are all owned by Bioware sadly, but I do admit to own some of my own created material for the purpose of this story including new characters and items. With this said I do not have any money to give any lawyers and money I have is for my savings. Thank you. **

**Mass Effect: Revival**

**Part One of the Lazarus Rising Series **

_An Alternative Universe Story,_

_Based in the Mass Effect Universe _

_Written by,_

_William R. Woods_

_"Deathzealot"_

_"Deathzealotzero"_

**Chapter Three: Questions**

_The Lazarus Project: a project to bring back the dead in an effort to fight against the Reapers. The original project was a complete failure with only one subject living through the entire process. However the data from the Lazarus Group's own version of the Project is quite useful and maybe used for a new stage of the project. _

_- Taken from an intercepted report of an unknown Cerberus Scientist to the Illusive Man_

-o-o-o-

**FTL-Transit **

**Horsehead Nebula **

In the main passenger cabin of the UT-49 Marmot Shuttle Shepard leaned against the cabin's main bulkhead with a sigh before turning her attention to Ashley who was sitting next to her talking to the duel armored forms of Fredicks and Toombs in the next row over. The third man, one Jacob Taylor, took a seat around the middle of the cabin blocking the rest of the group from the chatting techs. The woman Miranda was looking over her Omni-Tool in her seat across from Ashley. Shepard wondered about this woman for she was reasonable for bringing her back from the dead and got her out of that damn station alive. As if sensing Shepard's scrutiny the woman looked up from her Omni-Tool with a tired smile.

"Yes Shepard?" the woman asked with a perfect raised eyebrow. Shepard could only chuckle slightly before sighing and leaning forward.

"I didn't get a chance to thank you earlier not only for helping me, but to bring me back like you did. That said I do think it's time for those answers you promised me?" she mentioned making Miranda lean back herself with a small pleased smile on her face.

"You are quite welcome Shepard for it was quite a challenge. And yes I did promise that didn't I," she answered before looking over at Ashley who had looked up herself at their conversation. Miranda looked over at Fredicks and Toombs with small short nods making the other woman blink in surprise before nodding in understanding at what Miranda wanted.

"Toombs. Fredicks. Why don't you keep those Techs busy for they don't need to know what we are going to be discussing," Ashley ordered with a nod to the techs further down the cabin making the two men look over at the techs.

"Yes boss," the two fired back before making their way over to the techs while Ashley leaned towards the other two woman with a frown making Shepard nod for she did not expect this discussion to be pleasant for any of them.

"Alright what do you want to know Shepard?" Miranda finally said breaking the tension brewing between the three women. Shepard could only sigh at this for there were numerous different questions flowing through her head currently before she just picked the first one that came to mind.

"What actually happened to me?" she asked making Miranda sigh as she leaned back in her seat while Ashley flinched back in her own seat.

"Basically the _Normandy _was ambushed by an unknown ship and destroyed. You managed to get much of your crew off but was killed after getting your pilot to an escape pod thanks to being injected from the remains of the ship. Your body somehow managed to be picked up soon after by the Blue Suns on the orders of the Shadow Broker however after chasing them around the Terminus Systems for several months we managed to get your body. It was then we started on bringing you back thanks to the Lazarus Project," Miranda explained with a dry technical tone which made Shepard experience several minor flashbacks of the attack on the _Normandy_ and then her slow death floating in space. After a moment she shook of those memories before turning back to Miranda to see her waiting patiently while Ashley was giving supportive looks making her grin weakly over at her friend before turning back to Miranda.

"Alright what happened to my crew? Did they make it okay?" she asked with a frown knowing that at least some of her crew hadn't made it to the escape pods. She remembered seeing a couple bodies when getting Joker to his Pod.

"Well the majority did manage to make off the ship but all of the replacements for the lost Marine detachment where killed down on deck three along with several crewmen, Lieutenant Pressely was killed during the initial attack on the _Normandy_. As for the rest of the team, they all made it out alive Jane," Ashley explained taking over from Miranda making Shepard nod for she had expected that answer. That said she felt sad over the deaths of the crew, and Pressely, but was thankful that her team, her friends, were still alive somewhere.

"Okay then what is this Project Lazarus I saw mentioned a few times when I was going through the station?" Shepard asked after another moment of two making Miranda exchange a look with Ashley before sighing and turning back to Shepard who just waited patiently.

"The Lazarus Project was originally a Cerberus Project to bring back notable soldiers to lead the fight against the Reapers. However of the original twelve test-subjects only Chief Williams managed to make it out alive. Soon after this I managed to lead a team to shut down the project, rescue Ashley, and stole the majority of the data from the project. This data was used to rebuild you with a few extras that were not part of the original project basically a reinforced skeleton, several notable implants, and a couple other goodies. Thanks to this it took just over a year and a half to bring you back to what you are now," Miranda answered once more in that dry tone while Shepard could only stare in shock at this for it was clearly more than just bringing her back to life. After a moment she shook her head to clear it before taking a breath and looking back at Miranda. Ashley once more was trying to look supportive and Shepard was at least thankful for the Project bringing her back.

"What do all of those extras you mention do really?" she asked after several moments of trying to think of a proper way to ask the question. Miranda only chuckled dryly before leaning back in her seat.

"In all boils down to that you are stronger, tougher, and faster than you where before the destruction of the _Normandy_. That said I can send you a complete rundown of your implants later for it would take several minutes to explain them all to you," the woman answered making Shepard only blink in slight surprise at this before nodding in understanding.

"So how long has it been since the destruction of the ship?" Shepard asked turning to Ashley only now noticing Miranda mentioning the Project's timeframe earlier.

"It has been two years, twelve days since then Skipper," Ashley quietly answered while Shepard could only stare off in shock once more before shaking it off knowing she couldn't dwell on that for she had a couple more questions to ask before they get to whatever they are heading too.

"Ashley earlier mentioned you used to be Cerberus Miranda. What changed?" Shepard asked with a frown remembering the various Cerberus Projects she had shut down during her hunt for Saren. Miranda only blanched at this in some shock before closing her eyes in sadness. Ashley only sighed at this before leaning forward and touching her knee with a sad smile while Shepard could only wonder could make this immovable woman looking so lost.

"It's okay Miranda she does not know, but I still think Shepard needs to know this so she can start to trust you," Ashley mentioned to the other woman who could only bow her head in sadness before turning to nod to Ashley who only sighed sadly before turning her attention to Shepard who had been dismayed at the reaction her question had generated.

"Basically Miranda is the daughter of Henry Lawson a notable but hardcore scientist who all out created Miranda as part of his so-called dynasty. He basically made her perfect but he was disappointed when she started to rebel against him which saw him creating another daughter basically cloning Miranda to create a new, younger daughter to fulfill this dynasty of his. This was the last straw for Miranda and she quickly ran away taking her newborn clone/sister with her. She ran to Cerberus for she knew they could help her and protect her sister from her father. We fast forward several years and Miranda was the right hand of the Illusive Man the leader of Cerberus. However during one of her missions around the time you were sent into the Terminus Systems to hunt Geth she got some info from one of her old contacts that mentioned that the Illusive Man and her father had made a deal. The Illusive Man wanted Lawson's data on the Husks he got from studying the remains from Eden Prime, and Lawson wanted the location of his daughter. Miranda was shocked at this and at first wanted to confront the Illusive Man about this but soon decided to see to the safety of her sister first and headed to Illium abandoning her mission. Sadly though Miranda was too late for Lawson had hired a relative newcomer mercenary group to retrieve her sister and thanks to them being sloppy with their fire when gunning down the sister's adopted family as ordered by Lawson. The sister was hit along with the family just in time for Miranda to watch her sister bleed out in front of her," Ashley started to explain while Miranda could only let out a sob making Shepard look over at the woman with a sigh before turning back to Ashley in time to listen to the last part of the story.

"At this Miranda went full-on biotic rage against the mercs killing them all in the matter of minutes. After the battle Miranda was found by the sole remaining member of the adopted family who had been on his way home when the attack hit. The two then buried the family before spending some time together mourning and then afterward Miranda would go on to help start the Civil War," Ashley explained finishing with a long sigh while Shepard could only close in eyes in pain before opening them and leaned forwards toward Miranda to set a hand on her knee with a mournful look on her face.

"Miranda I'm sorry about your loss and I promise you when you find your father I will be there covering your back while you physically tear him apart," Shepard said with a small smile on her face making Miranda look up with a blood thirsty look in her eyes.

"Thank you Shepard and you can expect me to help you take down any Cerberus Cells in the future," Miranda fired back making Shepard chuckle evilly before patting Miranda's knee and turning her attention to Ashley. However before she could say anything a beep from the intercom interrupted her.

"Attention Passengers we are exiting FTL in five minutes," the voice of the shuttle pilot reported making Shepard look out the nearby window in surprise before turning back to the other two woman.

"Alright I have a couple further questions for you two before we exit FTL. Basically what has been done to prepare for the Reapers?" she asked making Miranda frown while Ashley angrily sighed making Shepard believe that the Council didn't take her warnings seriously.

"Neither the Alliance or the Council have done anything in preparation for the coming of the Reapers. The only ones who are preparing is us, the Lazarus Group, the Krogan and the Migrant Fleet. Cerberus says they are but honestly they are doing it wrong," Miranda replied with that same frown while Ashley muttered angrily. Shepard cursed under her breath before sighing knowing it couldn't be helped. At least someone was preparing for the Reapers, it was better than nothing after all.

"Okay final question for you guys. What is exactly the Lazarus Group for you have been mentioning it a couple times? Other then it's a Splinter Group from Cerberus of course," she asked getting the impression that this group would be the best bet on trying to stop the Reapers. Ashley only just chuckled lightly before exchanging looks with Miranda before looking over at Shepard.

"Basically yes at its core the Lazarus Group is a splinter group of Cerberus that has been turned into a private paramilitary force that is dedicated to fighting or at least stopping the Reapers. We are currently building up our forces to do this as well as researching and developing new ways to fight the Reapers. While we don't have the resources Cerberus sported during its heyday we still have enough supporters and resources to really start doing something in the fight against the Reapers. We are also helping were we can trying to get allies in the fight," Ashley explain making Shepard nod in response pleased her guess was quite correct about the group. If they followed through with that mission statement she would be glad to be a part of it. However before she could say anything the shuttle jolted as it dropped out of FTL.

"Attention passengers we have dropped out of FTL and are now in route to Safehold Station. Welcome to the Anadius System everyone," the shuttle pilot said over the intercom making the techs in the forward seats chatting excitedly. While Shepard only looked on as the shuttle continued on towards its destination.

-o-Chapter End-o-

Well here is Chapter Three and we see some things are different in the story while others are the same as the game. Which in this case the beginning Question and Answer Section at the beginning of the game. It shows how has really changed with this story over the game itself.

Yes I know the Anadius System is where TIM's HQ is at but I decide to repurpose it into something else: the headquarters for the Lazarus Group. I also slightly modified the system itself from a small system with a sun and nothing else into something a bit different though still being a small system. This will be seen in the next chapter where we are introduced to Safehold, Headquarters of Lazarus, as well as some further info on the Group itself.

Next up, I am quite sorry that I killed off Orianna in this story before we even get to see her but honestly I needed a good way to break Miranda away from Cerberus and Timmy Boy. Killing Orianna like that was the perfect choice for doing that. I really hated doing that but still. I could still see about only having her attacked and living through it during the a rewrite which depends on reader feedback

With all that said I shall see you all in the next chapter.


	5. Chapter Four: Safehold

**Disclaimer: I do declare that I do not in any way own the Mass Effect Game Series, including the plot and any of its characters. They are all owned by Bioware sadly, but I do admit to own some of my own created material for the purpose of this story including new characters and items. With this said I do not have any money to give any lawyers and money I have is for my savings. Thank you. **

**Mass Effect: Revival**

**Part One of the Lazarus Rising Series **

_An Alternative Universe Story,_

_Based in the Mass Effect Universe _

_Written by,_

_William R. Woods_

_"Deathzealot"_

_"Deathzealotzero"_

**Chapter Four: Safehold **

_The Freeport Station Safehold was a development of Celestial Engineering as a prototype for the new Quarian Freeport Asteroid Stations. However after showing off the small asteroid colony to the Migrant Fleet it would become almost defunt with it only serving as a base for Celestial Engineering teams to investigate the very large asteroid belt that dominated the Anadius System. It is notable that it recently has been fully reactivated by Celestial Engineering for some reason or another unknown at present…_

- _Taken from a report via an Unknown Information Broker _

**Nearspace**

**Safehold Freeport Station **

**Lagrange Point, Planet Valern **

**Anadius System, Horsehead Nebula **

In the very small Anadius Solar System, dominated by the large gas giant Valern, an extra-large asteroid belt, and the systems star a red supergiant two flashes of light announced the appearance of two UT-49 Marmot Jump Shuttles into the lonely little system. The two shuttles flew around the rocky moon Minerva and towards the lonely asteroid that was captured by the Minerva and Valern Lagrange Point. However while the asteroid was lonely in Celestial terms it wasn't lonely entirely thanks to the twin large space stations that bracketed the small asteroid and numerous small craft buzzing around the area.

In the lead shuttle's passenger cabin Alexandra Jane Shepard looked out the nearby window in some awe as the asteroid and the activity buzzing around it. She couldn't believe what she was seeing for not only where two space stations orbiting the small asteroid but there were a trio of repainted Alliance Frigates holding station in a defensive nature above the asteroid along with the numerous buzzing small craft. Those three frigates sported the same colors she had seen on this particular shuttle before boarding it back at that space station. She also soon noticed as the shuttles got closer to the asteroid a single _Kowloon _Class Modular Freighter docked to an exterior docking port unloading cargo. She could only shake her head before turning her attention to Ashley Williams the woman sitting next to her who finished her conversation with the black-haired woman sitting to her.

"Ash is this a Freeport Asteroid Station?" she asked with a frown nodding to the window making the other woman chuckle before looking out the window with a nod of her head.

"Yes that's Safehold Station which was built as a prototype by Celestial Engineering over twenty years ago to show off the concept of the old Belter Stations from the Sol System to the Migrant Fleet. After it was finished it would remain at limited capacity for teams looking over this system's very large asteroid belt. Now it serves as our organization's headquarters and primary base," Ashley explained making Shepard shake her head in confusion before nodding to one of the repainted frigates as the shuttle passed by it which she quickly noticed were quite larger than a normal Alliance frigate.

"What about those Frigates for they look like Alliance ships?" Shepard asked turning away from the window at her former squadmate who nodded in agreement with her former commander. Miranda Lawson the black-haired woman sitting next to Ashley's other side looked up at this before nodding as well.

"You are quite correct for they used to be Alliance ships but these particular ships are several years old that had been sold off about five years ago. They are actually _Salamis _Class Heavy Frigates, an Alliance Navy design project that looked into expanding the Navy's Frigate Fleet and give it a bit more teeth. However the project went over-budget and the design was deemed too expensive for further production. The Alliance Navy still managed to build seven ships of the class and used them as leaders for frigate wolfpacks for a few years before they were replaced in this role by the far cheaper and not to mention smaller _Gettysburg _Class Command Frigates. Our organization managed to purchase four of the ships from the Alliance through a couple of our front companies and brought them here where they were completely rebuilt and rearmed. They would then serve as our only combat-capable ships for a while, serving mainly as a defensive nature here in the Anadius System for a bit. They have since started to serve as training platforms in an effort to expand our fleet," Miranda replied eying the nearby frigate as their shuttle left it behind making Shepard blink in surprise for she had heard of the _Salamis _Class but never seen any ships of the class. She shrugged before she noticed that the shuttle was quickly approaching one of the smaller docks built into the asteroid.

"Attention passengers we shall be docking with Safehold in about two minutes," the shuttle pilot announced over the intercom making much of the handful of techs that were the shuttle's only other passengers sigh in relief while a few cheered. Shepard noticed this with an amused look before turning her attention back to Ashley to see her getting up from the bench and stretching.

"So Ashley what is the plan now that we are here?" Shepard asking turning to look at Ashley as she started to work some kinks out of her shoulder. The other woman only blinked at this before turning to look over at Miranda in some confusion. Miranda only chuckled at this before getting up to strectch herself and turned to look at the still seated Shepard.

"Basically Ashley and the others are going to head for the Debriefing while I take you to the Director. For he wants to meet with you as soon as possible. Then after that it is really up to you Shepard. You can stay with us and help in the fight against the Reapers or head back to the Alliance or Council Space if you wish," Miranda explained making Shepard look over at her in some shock before shaking her head.

"That's it. You are willing to just let me go like that? From I understand Lazarus spent a lot of credits on bringing me back… four billion if I remember right?" Shepard mentioned in some shock making the other two woman laugh a bit evilly making Shepard wonder what this was all about..

"Yes for I nor the Director are going to try to keep you here if you don't want to be Shepard. As for the credits well they are not ours in fact those credits are what I stole from Cerberus when I left the organization. In fact about half of those credits were assigned to the setup of the Lazarus Cell around the time you died. Therefore I say Lazarus don't have a real stock in you anymore Shepard. Granted I would like you to stay with us but I am not going to force you," Miranda mentioned making Shepard blink in surprise at this statement as well as being amused. For stealing credits straight from Cerberus was something she could respect after all. However before she say anything in response the intercom beeped once more.

"We are now docking and I like to say welcome everyone to Safehold Station," the pilot announced as with a clunk the shuttle docked with its assigned cradle. This caused Shepard to look the nearby window where she could see several other different craft docked including a couple more Marmot Jump Shuttles, several Worker Bee Work Shuttles, and about a dozen of the tiny Hornet Work Pods. With a slight impressed look on her face Shepard turned to look at Miranda.

"Right I am not quite impressed Miranda with your group here. However I am still thinking of what I should be doing after all this. On a personal note I am heavily leaning in your guy's direction," Shepard mentioned with a small smile on her face making the others laugh in response to her little quip. As they did so the shuttle landed in its assigned docking cradle alongside the other shuttle from Minuteman Station. With a hiss the docking cradle attached itself to the shuttle and a docking tube was extended towards the shuttle's main airlock. At this the three men of their group rejoined them as the techs at the front of the passenger bay got up from their seats and started to head for the airlock chatting away with one another.

"Alright we shall let the techs out first then we shall follow behind them. Like I said earlier Ashley shall lead her security force to the Debriefing while I take Shepard to visit the Director," Miranda explained looking over at the men who could only nod in understanding. The helmets of the three armored men just nodded in answer making Miranda only smile in response before turning her attention to the airlock watching as the techs entered the docking tube and into the station itself.

"Alright let's go," she directed nodding to the airlock making Shepard nod before following behind the other woman. As she did she looked around the cabin with sigh before entering the docking tube and into the station. She wondered what this meeting with Group's Director will bring.

-o-o-o-

**Secondary Docking Bay #3 **

**Safehold Freeport Station **

**Lagrange Point, Planet Valern **

**Anadius System, Horsehead Nebula **

As she exited the docking tube Shepard could only look around in silent awe at her new surroundings which look almost exactly like any other spaceport she seen throughout her career and life as a spacer. There were numerous holo-signs everywhere most having directions to numerous different parts of the station while only a handful sported the usual advertisements. Shepard could only shake her head at this before turning and following behind Miranda as she effortless made her way through the crowds moving about the spaceport. She noticed at the corner of her eye that the armored forms of Ashley and her team along a few other armored troops from the other shuttle split off from the two woman heading towards a different direction.

As Shepard continued to follow behind Miranda she quickly noticed that the crowds started to thin out as they approached another part of the station. Shepard noticed some signs saying about a tram way and wondered how large this station actually was. For if she remembered right about Freeport Stations they didn't really take up the entire mass of the asteroid they were built into. Therefore thanks to the size of this asteroid the station shouldn't be all that large compared to some of the older Belter Communities she had seen back in the Sol System. Then again she may be wrong and the station took up almost the entire asteroid. That didn't even include the twin stations that flanked the asteroid, or if they were part of the Station themselves.

"Alright we are going to take this tram to the Station Core where Lazarus has its Command facilities and the offices of many of the high-end members of the group including the Director," Miranda explained jolting Shepard out of her thoughts as she followed behind the other woman into the small tram and grabbed a handhold before the tram shot off towards it destination.

-o-o-o-

**Car 2, Tram-Way #1**

** Safehold Freeport Station **

**Lagrange Point, Planet Valern **

**Anadius System, Horsehead Nebula **

Inside the tram-car Shepard looked over at Miranda who turned her attention once more to her Omni-Tool but Shepard thought she should get to know the other woman a bit more. For the woman not only had single-handily brought her back she had also saved her alive from behind dead again.

"So Miranda was there anything good happening during the past two years?" Shepard questioned with a frown making Miranda blink in surprise dragging her attention away from Omni-Tool and looked over at Shepard. She only sighed before turning off the display of her tool and leaned against the wall of the car.

"You want to know if anything good happened during the past few years well that is quite hard for outside of small things nothing really happened. That said there were a few events that happened you may enjoy," Miranda answered before starting to mention these events to Shepard including a few things she had heard from Ashley about Shepard's crew and team. One noticeable incident that made Shepard shake her head with a smile was Alenko recently becoming the commander of his own ship. Another one of Anderson actually yelling and almost punching the Turian Councilor after the man mentioned that Shepard was insane due to the Beacons therefore not a viable witness to the events from her hunt for Saren. That particular even made her scowl annoyance before chuckling at Anderson's actions. After waiting for Shepard to recover Miranda continued on making Shepard laugh at some parts while others made her roll her eyes in annoyance. Finally Miranda was mentioning what had happened to Shepard's mother when the tram started to come to a stop.

"I really cannot believe that my mother finally got her ship for that had been a long time in coming for her several chances to advance to command a dreadnaught but several things stopped her. I am glad she did but I wonder how she did manage to get that command," Shepard returned before shaking her head and looking at Miranda.

"Shall we Shepard?" Miranda questioned waving towards the now opened door of the tram-car. Shepard only gave a short nod before following behind the other woman and off the tram.

-o-o-o-

**Station Core  
Safehold Freeport Station  
Lagrange Point, Planet Valern  
Anadius System, Horsehead Nebula **

After exiting the tram Miranda lead the way through the surprising large crowds that dominated the main area of the Core. Shepard noticed that many where rushing to and from areas hands full of data pads. Miranda simply walked right past the rushing crowd before turning at a small security checkpoint manned by a pair of large YMIR Mark-VA Heavy Mechs and a trio of armored troops in the same armor that Fredricks and Toombs wore. The two woman where quickly waved through the checkpoint by the lead trooper and soon Shepard find herself in the front of a simple sliding door with Miranda standing at the side of the door looking over at her with a small smile on her face.

"Alright Shepard the Director should be inside waiting for you, I need to go fill out my report on Wilson's betrayal and the attack on the Station. Therefore good luck and I shall see you later," Miranda mentioned keying in a code on the door's control panel before taking off towards another direction leaving Shepard behind staring through the now opened door and the darkened interior of the room. With a deep breath Shepard entered the room and let the darkness swallow her as the door slide close behind her. However before she do anything she noticed that the room wasn't totally in darkness for there was a soft glow from a series of small holographic data screens on one end of the room with a humanoid figure standing in front of the screens observing them. She took a breath before walking towards the figure which turned slightly at her approach. As she came closer the figure she noticed it was a human and that the figure was slightly familiar to her making her frown slightly.

"Hello Jane it has been awhile hasn't it," the voice of the figure called out with a pleased tone as it finished turning showing Shepard their face making her only gape in shocked surprise at both the figure's face and voice.

**-o-Chapter End-o-**

Well here is Chapter Four and things are starting to get somewhat interesting. We get a brief glance at Safehold and the overall Lazarus Group. We shall get a better picture of the group and the forces it is building in the next couple chapters. Also some other questions are asked and answered about is what had happened in the two years since the destruction of the _Normandy_.

That said the frigates mentioned at the beginning of this chapter are basically larger versions of the Alliance Frigates we see in Mass Effect 1 and 3. They also sport a spinal weapon that is quite different from the regular-old Alliance Frigate. What type of weapon shall be answered later on when the new _Normandy _is introduced. That said I will like to ask a question of my readers before I get to the introduction of said ship. In the introduction I mentioned that the new _Normandy _may have a new name alongside its slightly different interior. My question is should I still rename the ship or still call it the _Normandy_? For one of my readers mentioned it may piss off a few readers if I do not give Shepard the _Normandy_.

To close these notes I like to mention we are about half-way done with this story and only a handful more chapters are left of this story before it is done. This story only serves as an introduction to the Lazarus Group before we get into the main story of the game and the hunt for the Collectors.

With that said folks I hoped you enjoy the chapter and I shall see you all later thank you for reading.

**EDIT: I changed the ending of this chapter giving a lead-in to the next chapter, and yes the Director's identity is known to Shepard which shall be answered in the next chapter. Which I am currently working on and shall be hopefully up in the next few days. **


	6. Chapter Five: Director

**Disclaimer: I do declare that I do not in any way own the Mass Effect Game Series, including the plot and any of its characters. They are all owned by Bioware sadly, but I do admit to own some of my own created material for the purpose of this story including new characters and items. With this said I do not have any money to give any lawyers and money I have is for my savings. Thank you. **

**Mass Effect: Revival**

**Part One of the Lazarus Rising Series **

_An Alternative Universe Story,_

_Based in the Mass Effect Universe _

_Written by,_

_William R. Woods_

_"Deathzealot"_

_"Deathzealotzero"_

**STOP! Before you start reading this chapter I ask you reread the last scene of the last chapter for it has been edited slightly and a new lead-in for this chapter was added therefore you should read it to make some sense of the beginning of this chapter thank you. **

**Chapter Five: Director **

_The identity of the Director of the Lazarus Group is currently unknown, as far our agents can know the man is only known by the codename of the Director, or just the Boss. What we do know of the man is that he is former military in some way, though we are not totally sure if this is the System's Alliance military or yet another military, and has several agents, or sometimes called Assistant Directors, that serve as his advisors as well as some of the more loyal members of the organization…_

- _Taken from an Intelligence Report from a STG Analyst Team _

**Director's Office  
Safehold Freeport Station  
Lagrange Point, Planet Valern  
Anadius System, Horsehead Nebula **

In the darkened office of the Lazarus Group's Director Alexandra Jane Shepard could only stare in shock at the figure that was calmly staring at her. She couldn't believe this for she never expected this person to be the Director of a group such as Lazarus. With a shake of her head she studied the man now standing before her which thanks to combination of the glow of the holographic data screens and her eyes adjusting to the gloom could now see clear. The man wore a white civilian suit, but cut in a military style and had his long red hair, so similar to her own, drawn back into a pony tail that trailed down the middle of his back. Not to mention the familiar grin on his face, one that she knew as quite similar to her own as well, that was growing across the man's face. She could only shake her head once more at this but suddenly she blinked in shock as a second figured emerged from the darkened gloom of the room chuckling.

"Alright Jon that is enough teasing your sister," the second figure mentioned with a mirthful feminine voice similar to her own of which sent the poor former Council Specter into another shock-filled haze as the figure of Captain Hannah Shepard came up to one side of her oldest child Jonathan Adams Sheppard and looked over the surprised form of her youngest child with a small smile on her own face before approaching the other woman with a few tears now sliding down her face. Shepard could only look at her mother's face and accepted the older woman's hug with tears coming to her own eyes for it has been a while since her mother hugged her like this.

"Oh my baby…I couldn't believe they managed to bring you back to us. I really gave your brother such a hard time after he revealed the Project's purpose. I did not believe it would work but look at you now standing before me alive and intact," Hannah managed to say with a watery smile as she pulled back from her daughter.

"Mom, Jon…what is going on here? Miranda mentioned you received command of your own ship? And I thought Jon was intent to remain with Dad's business?" Shepard finally managed to say after several moments of silence between the three Shepards. Hannah only chuckled before shooting a look at Jonathon who only sighed before entering a command into one of the holo-screens which started to slowly bring up the lights in the room revealing that it was a whole office space complete with a desk which the holo-screens where "sitting" on top, a series of various different other office furniture and a comfortable couch along with a coffee table in front of it. It was this couch that Hannah lead her daughter towards while Jon propped himself up against a corner of the large desk waiting as the other two took seats.

"To answer your first question well Miranda wasn't entirely truthful for yes I got command of a ship but you just assumed it was a Dreadnaught thanks to one being my last assignment," Hannah replied with a sigh leaning against the couch's back. Shepard blinked at this before frowning at the low-key anger in her mother's voice.

"So this means you are no longer in the Alliance military then mother?" Shepard asked with a frown eying the taller woman who only sighed before exchanging a look with Jon before returning her attention to her daughter.

"No Alexandra I am no longer a member of the Alliance I am sorry to say. Let's just say the stories you heard from Miss Williams and the others were only the tip of the iceberg. Basically after your death your crew was split up with many in your former ground team moving onto other interests, while the former _Normandy _crew where split up to different assignments. It was around this I notice that everything you have been trying to do to prepare us for these Reapers was being swept under the rug. I then took this to the Defense Council and demanded to know why they were tarnishing your memory like this and not going doing anything further against the Reapers. They then warned me to stop but I didn't listen instead kept pushing till they stripped me of my rank and drummed me out of service. It was the same for anyone that stood and defended you I am sad to say including some of your former crew," Hannah explained much to the shock and anger of Shepard for that was a bit more then what she had heard during the trip from the station to Safehold. Suddenly something else that was mentioned to her during the trip came to the fore of her mind and she gasped in shock before turning to look at Jon.

"Oh god. Miranda's sister was Anna wasn't it?" she asked her older brother knowing the adopted child of her father and his second wife was quite close to the man. Jon only sighed sadly before pushing off from his desk and taking a seat in one of the smaller couches that flanked the larger couch.

"Yes Anna is actually Orianna Lawson, younger clone/sister to Miranda Lawson and she was killed by mercenaries hired by her birth father to take her back. They also killed Dad and Louise as well during the cross fire," he explained in a sad monotone making Shepard lean back in her seat in shock remembering the little girl she had meet a few times who had been quite pleased to have a "older" sister. Not to mention the blow of hearing about her father's and step-mother's deaths. While she had been a bit strained from her father after the divorce between her parents, she had still loved the man and she had started too actually like the woman he had married after the divorce. She blinked away a few tears before turning her attention to her brother.

"I am sorry Jon they will be missed," she said leaning forward and pulling him into an awkward hug. After a moment the two siblings broke apart and turned their attention to their mother who was now openly crying. The three then took a few moments to remember fond memories of those lost.

"That said Mom how did you get into all of this?" she asked with a frown still not happy how the Alliance had treated not only her mother but her own people after her so-called death.

"Well it started at your funeral when I started talking to your father, and he mentioned some info he had heard from some of his sources about the Council denying that Saren had anything to do with these so-called Reapers. I showed him the letters you had sent me over those past few months about your worry about these Reapers, and he promised to help. It was then after my discharge I decided to visit your father to see if he can help in some way that was just after the attack on them. I actually showed up just after Jon arrived to see all of the mercenaries dead on the floor and Jon comforting an unknown woman kneeling at the body of Anna. From there we got the full story from Miranda along with some other stuff we didn't know. We then all decided to create Lazarus Group to start preparation for the arrival of the Reapers in your memory," Hannah explained with a sad sigh making Jon nod with a clinched jaw. Shepard could only shake her head in amazement at what her family had been doing in the last two years.

"This is so surreal and something was not expecting all. That said I take it that Jon is the Director thanks to his experience with Dad at the United Cargo Services, but mom what is your role in all of this?" Shepard asked turning to her mother mentioning her father's company which was a Cargo Carrying Service that sported a loose collection of freight haulers under one banner.

"Well believe or not my official title in the group is Assistant Director of Shipboard Operations, but basically I am in charge of the group's current space force though not as much as an Alliance Admiral would be. I am still in charge but the ship captains in Lazarus have a bit more independence then Alliance captains. I also command a ship myself in the scheme of things," Hannah explain with a wave at her current attire which Shepard was surprised to see is some sort of uniform mostly white and black with the Group's emblem gracing one side of the uniform's coat. Meanwhile her sleeves each sported a trio of slanted golden bars which she guessed was the uniform's rank device.

"So basically kind of like how an Alliance Frigate Wolf-pack commander acts then mother?" Shepard asked with a nod to her mother making the older Shepard smile in response. She remembered that when she was younger her mother was first a Frigate commander before becoming a wolf-pack commander then being rotated out of Frigates to serve on larger ships when Shepard started to live with her after her parent's divorce.

"Yes that is it exactly but it may change when our forces start growing larger, but for now this set-up is fine," Hannah replied with a nod of her head making a face at the thought of being moved off a command deck and onto a flag deck. Shepard chuckled lightly for her mother's refusal to go any higher then Captain was quite famous in the Alliance Navy.

"So care to explain how you guys got Lazarus together like this and so fast? Not to mention getting the funds need to support a group this size?" Shepard asked leaning back in the couch eying her family who started to relax a bit in her own seats.

"Well it wasn't hard with Grandfather Ellis putting Celestial Engineering support behind us. Then we had my connections through United Cargo Services which allowed us to move a lot of stuff quickly where we needed it. I also had the credits you bequeathed to me in your will. Speaking of that where in the world did you get all of that?" Jon replied mentioning the father of his step-mother Ellis Halevy, the CEO of Celestial Engineering a company that was behind the construction of the Freeport Asteroid Colonies as well as construction of numerous different types of space stations. Shepard meanwhile only blinked at her brother's question before chuckling a bit remember how she received so much money.

"That is an interesting story behind that but basically during my hunt for Saren I was searching numerous uncharted planets for clues and such where I would lay claim to several resource rich veins. I then sold those claims to numerous different mining interests which I then invested a lot of the credits I got from those sales into some companies. I did this after I noticed that many of the Council's Specters somehow managed to make their own money to fund their operations," Shepard explained with a shrug of her shoulders making Jon shake his head with a smile.

"I see you were paying attention to Dad's lessons after all," Jon replied before exchanging looks with his mother before turning his attention back to his sister.

"That said time to move back to our story with all of this support and funds we got not to mention the support of the former Cerberus Cells, like Miranda's cell, we managed to start putting the group together early last year. It was then we started operations against remaining Cerberus Cells and starting preparation for the Reapers. We put a lot of funds into researching weapons, equipment and such to use against the Reapers," Jon explained making Shepard nod pleased that someone was preparing for the Reapers.

"What about personal for I take it you have many people in this group?" she asked remembering all of those people she saw during her trip through the station.

"Some are former Alliance like mom who got drummed out of service for some reason or another, others were once Cerberus defecting when everything came to light about what the group has done in the past, but the vast majority are fresh recruits from the Independent human colonies in the Terminus Systems and Attican Traverse," Jon replied with a small smile on his face making Shepard blink in surprise at this before nodding for it did make sense the colonies in the Terminus she knew where not big fans of the Alliance for some reason or another. It was the reason for them to settle those colonies in the first place after all.

"That said it has been quite a ride so far, but with you now awake we can really start doing further operations," Jon explained before stopping flinching at the look on his mother's face before sighing and eying his sister.

"That is if you want to say with us of course?" Jon asked hopefully making Shepard chuckle lightly before leaning forward slightly.

"Really Jon you have to ask me that question for with both yourself and mom in this group along with several of my friends I am not going to leave you all," she responded lightly making both of the other Shepards sigh in relief.

"That is good for I some plans for you…" Jon mentioned but stopped when a harsh beeping started from one of the holo-screens making the man whip his head over to the desk with a silent curse and threw himself across the room looking down at one of his numerous holo-screens on the desk before cursing as he rapidly entered commands into his controls. Shepard blinked at this and looked over to see her mother also not happy at whatever was happening before she watched as her mother got up to stand behind Jon as he read numerous other screens still cursing.

"What is it this time Jonathan?" Hannah asked while Shepard got up herself and walked over to her family trying to understand what was going on.

"It's Freedom Progress. Just like all of the others the colonists have just disappeared, no bodies, no signs of struggle, nothing," he explained with a small snarl which made Shepard look on in confusion before Jon sighed and turned to look over at her.

"Basically Jane for the last several months colonies in the Traverse and Terminus have just completely disappeared. At first many thought it was pirates and slavers like normal but just that the colonists have all out disappeared with no sign of any fighting at all or struggle. A few of these colonies actually of some sort of a defense force therefore it is kind of strange that there is no signs of any fighting at all. Not to mention the Alliance has done nothing at all to look into these disappearances though it looks they are worried about it," Jon explained with a sigh as he stared down at his holo-screens. Shepard could only curse herself at this news and came alongside her brother.

"You think it is the Reapers then?" she asked with a frown eying the data scrolling across the screens.

"We are not sure but some inside the group believe it is a possibility," Hannah replied from her spot on the other side of Jon.

"This is what I wanted you for Jane. Basically to look into what is going on with these colonies and stop it along with searching for any connection with the Reapers," Jon explained as he entered a few more commands into one of the holo-screens. Shepard could only nod in understanding for it sounded like what she done during the fight against Saren.

"Okay I believe I can do that Jon, but I need a good team and a good ship to use a base during this," she answered making Jon just chuckle a bit before exchanging looks with his mother.

"Oh we have those covered Jane, but the ship we had built for it is still undergoing slight adjustments therefore it would be a few days before it is ready. However I do want you to investigate Freedom's Progress therefore you are going to have to take a shuttle, as for a team you can have Miranda and Ashley's team" Jon said with a nod as he turned back to his screens before hitting a control on the desktop itself.

"Kelly can you have Operative Lawson and Lieutenant Williams contact me for a quick rundown of a new mission," Jon ordered through the intercom built into his desk.

"Understood Director," a peppy female voice replied through the intercom's speaker making Jon nod before turning to look at his sister eying the dirty BDU's and armor vest she was still wearing.

"Alright I think you should head down to one of our armories to get you suited up. I shall have one of my people lead there where I shall have Miranda waiting for you," he said making Shepard nod in understanding pleased that she wouldn't have to wear this armor vest for anymore missions for she missed being in a full-on military hardsuit.

"Understood Director," Shepard replied professionally and a nod to Jon before starting to make her way back to the office's door. However she was stopped by a hand on her arm from her mother.

"Before you go Jane let me say it is quite good to have you back, but please don't die on me anymore for I won't be able to take it," her mother managed to say almost with begging with a sorrowful look on her face making Shepard nod with her own look on her face.

"Don't worry mom you guys gave me a second chance with bringing me back and I am not about to waste it. Not to mention I still have a lot to do," Shepard replied covering her mom's hand with her own before suddenly grinning and turning to face the door.

"Besides it's time to do what I do best," she replied making her mother blink surprise while Jon could only shake his head with a smile.

"What's that dear?" Hannah asked in return with confused frown on her face, while Shepard turned to look at her with a large grin on her face.

"To kick some ass and take some names," Shepard replied before walking out of the office leaving the shocked form of her mother behind while her brother only barked a short laugh before turning back to his desk.

**-o-Chapter End-o-**

Well now folks I hope this chapter really gave you a mind twister or at least some surprise for I expect no one thought the Director is actually Shepard's brother not to mention the appearance of Shepard's mother as part of Lazarus Group. I went through several different identities for the Lazarus Director after I threw out my original idea of using an original character. I am still using the idea of an original character but this is Shepard's brother, or rather a different Male-Shepard, and I balanced it with the appearance of an under-used canon character Hannah Shepard, mother to Commander Shepard.

That said Hannah kind of sneaked into this for she wasn't supposed to be in the Lazarus Group but still in the Alliance but covertly supporting the group alongside Hackett. But when I was reading some Hannah Shepard fanfictions I was surprise to find that not one had Hannah support Shepard in their mission to stop the Collector attacks. Oh granted there are a few that had Hannah giving at least some support like sending out a ship from her dreadnaughts escort group to help the Normandy take in Captain Taylor, or other things during the mission to take-down the Collectors. However I have never seen a story that had Hannah right there with Shepard helping them during the mission both to stop the Collectors or the Reapers.

That said the final lines of this chapter took me forever to write for I wanted to have a true Shepard response before I decided to listen to some of the more famous Shepard quotes to come up with that. I hope it was a suitable Shepard response and a good way to end the chapter.

Next up we get the mission to Freedom's Progress, which is slightly different thanks to Shepard not with Cerberus and the Quarians actually a supporter of Lazarus in some way as I hinted earlier. Also be prepared for yet another curve-ball for it will be doozy, I am warning you now.

Before I end these notes I like to mention a couple things first I have decided to keep the name of _Normandy _for Shepard's ship. She is still not going to have the hull classification of SR-2 thanks to it being taken by another _Normandy _Class frigate built by the System's Alliance. I would like to thank a close friend, you know who you are, who angrily yelled at me after my complaining about people yelling at me about changing the name of the ship when I explained the reasoning why. He mentioned he is not surprised for it is like somehow taken the NCC-1701 Enterprise and renaming it. That gave me pause and saw the keeping of the name. Next I am going to try to create some Codexes and post them on one of the Mass Effect Fanon Wikis. For I did promise I would do so but everything has prevented me from doing so.

Alright that is about it folks I shall see about starting on the next chapter soon. See you then!


	7. Chapter Six: Armory

**Disclaimer: I do declare that I do not in any way own the Mass Effect Game Series, including the plot and any of its characters. They are all owned by Bioware sadly, but I do admit to own some of my own created material for the purpose of this story including new characters and items. With this said I do not have any money to give any lawyers and money I have is for my savings. Thank you. **

**Mass Effect: Revival**

**Part One of the Lazarus Rising Series **

_An Alternative Universe Story,_

_Based in the Mass Effect Universe _

_Written by,_

_William R. Woods_

_"Deathzealot"_

_"Deathzealotzero"_

**Chapter Six: Armory**

_The M-96 Mattock Heavy Rifle is a human-designed assault rifle that was developed soon after the discovery of the Prothean Ruins on Mars and Mass Effect technology. Therefore it comes to no surprise that thanks to humanity's little experience in Mass Effect the Mattock sports not only a large recoil kickback but a very high damage potential due to the large slug it fires. Therefore it has since become a favorite of many groups including Alliance Colonial Militia units and a few low-key mercenary groups. It has become quite famous after it was discovered that Commander Shepard favorite rifle is the Mattock and she used one during her hunt for Saren… _

· Taken from Armax Arsenal Gun Catalog 

**Station Core  
Safehold Freeport Station  
Lagrange Point, Planet Valern  
Anadius System, Horsehead Nebula **

With a clear purpose Shepard walked out of the Director's office before looking around to find a figure wearing a similar uniform to her mother's waiting for her by the security station. She quickly made a bee-line for the figure noticing it was a short-red haired woman with a perky expression. As she approached Shepard eyed the woman with a small smile on her face for she liked what she saw but quickly shook her head and put those thoughts away for she had a mission. She finally stopped in the front of the woman making her straighten up to attention before saluting.

"Ma'am! I am Yeoman Kelly Chambers the Director's current personal assistant I was told to lead you to the main armory where we can get you suited up and ready for your new mission. Please follow me," the woman mentioned making Shepard nod at her before waving towards the security station.

"Lead on Yeoman," she ordered letting the woman lead her through the security station which once more waved them through without much fuss before quickly boarding the same tram station that took her to the Station Core. It didn't take long this time for the tram to travel to this armory. As they went Shepard eyed the other woman who started to look at something displayed on her omni-tool before looking up at her with a perky and beaming smile making Shepard sigh. Finally after a few minutes she noticed the tram slowing down as it started to come to a stop.

"If you follow me ma'am the main armory is right around the corner," Chambers said getting out from her seat waving for the door still in that perky voice of hers. Shepard only nodded at her before following behind and through the tram's doors.

**Main Armory  
D Block, Freeport Station **

With the soft whine the doors to the armory sled open allowing Shepard to blink in sheer shock at the armory displayed before her. For while it did look similar to other armories she had seen in her career, she was shocked to see an opened airlock door on the other end of the large room giving everyone in the room an awesome view of the Gas Giant Valern. A slight shimmer could be seen indicting a mass effect field was active and most likely the only thing holding the armory's atmosphere in. She could only stare in shock at this before turning to look around the armory seeing everyone busy loading up a small zero-gee cargo sled that was by the airlock and most likely the reason for it to be opened like this. She blinked as she noticed her escort moving past her shocked form and towards a short, stout man talking with another man in a civilian grade space encounter suit. As they approached the two men Shepard was again surprised to see a familiar face on the stout man.

"Well look at this everyone our great hero has returned," the man called out with a smirk as he turned at their approach before turning to nod at Chambers who saluted and left the armory behind. He then briefly turned his attention to the other man that had been standing with him.

"That will be all Perkins make sure everything on that list is stowed away on the ship," he ordered making the other man salute with a nod before turning around and heading towards the cargo sled while slipping his helmet onto his head as he went.

"Rory Swann. Well this is a surprise though I shouldn't be really for it is the day for reunions for old friends," Shepard said with a shake of her head before shaking the man's hand noticing the other hand was no longer a clunky metal multi-tool that it had been after the man's accident and was currently a brand-new top-of-line prosthetic that resembled a normal hand. That said it had been a while since she had seen the man for he had been armory chief on-board the Marine Assault Ship _Krulak _for a couple years. Though it would be thanks to this man that she managed to get several modified Mattock rifles for the _Normandy _after she was made a Specter and received command of the ship. Though she really shouldn't be surprised he is now a member of Lazarus for he was a outspoken critic of the Alliance Defense Council.

"I heard you meet up with Ms. Williams, and I must say you trained her well for she and I have come up with some nice toys for the use of Lazarus," Swann answered with a smile with a nod to one of the armory's large weapon lockers which Shepard was surprised to see were filled with a few dozen examples of a modified example of the Mattock along with a few other weapons that she didn't know. She shook her head with a smile at this before turning her attention back to Swann.

"What do you have for me then Swann?" she asked making the man chuckle a bit before leading her over to a nearby weapon bench. On said bench were four weapons one she clearly knew to be a Mattock, and another she immediately recognized as a M-300 Claymore Shotgun which she became familiar with thanks to her time with Urdnot Wrex who was a fan of the design. She chuckled at that for the two had quickly bonded over their favorite weapons, the Mattock for her, and the Claymore for him. In fact Wrex had started to carry his own modified Mattock soon after he seen her using it during those first missions after receiving her Specter status. The other two weapons she wasn't that quite familiar with though one she thought looked Salarian.

"Well Cowgirl we have a newly modified M-96A6 Mattock Heavy Rifle as your primary weapon and rifle. It has been vastly modified from normal, including a new gyro system that helps prevent heavy recoil which allows the weapon to sport not only its normal single-shot mode but now sporting the ability to fire a short three-shot burst. A 5x Scope has been added to the top of the weapon, which can either be used as normal or linked to your helmet's display. The final modification is something quite different from any other modified Mattock," the man explained picking up the rifle showing her different parts of the weapons as he explained them. Shepard couldn't but smile in pleasure at she eyed the weapon. Finally Swann tapped a component built along the bottom of the weapon and suddenly grinned evilly as he looked up at her.

"This particular feature is a newly designed heat-sink that while doesn't completely act like the older internal heat-sinks still help cool the weapon enough to allow it to fire a bit more before needing to replace the thermal clip. Which I am sure you aware is one of the main flaws of a Thermal Clip equipped Mattock is that you normally have around ninety-six shots before you need to replace the clip. With this new heat sink you can fire twice that before replacing the clip," the man finished making her blink in surprise before chuckling evilly herself at this as she eyed the rifle.

"Oh you and I are going to have so much fun together," she said to the rifle itself much to amusement of Swann before he put the rifle down and picking up the white Salarian looking pistol.

"Now this baby here is a STG-P3 Scorpion Pistol, and it is one of the more unique Mass Effect-based weapons I have ever seen in my career. We managed to receive several of these from an unknown contact in the STG who said he was an old friend of yours. We really don't know how the guy figured out we were bringing you back and you would be joining us but still it is a one-of-kind weapon that many of the troopers would love to carry," Swann explained as he looked down at the weapon in his hands with a sigh. Shepard frowned at this trying to think of anyone she knew in the STG who could say was a friend of hers before shaking her head and bringing her attention back to Swann.

"Alright what does it do then Swann?" she asked noticing the man literally petting the pistol with a evil chuckle. Her question quickly jolted him out of his trance before coughing into his hand and tapping the top of the pistol which glowed strange light blue color.

"At first you have to understand it is not a true mass accelerator weapon instead it fires small explosives that can stick to either an enemy combatant or any surface. When attaching to a simple surface it acts like a proximity charge going off when an enemy gets into range, while it simply explodes a few seconds after attaching to an enemy," Swann managed to say with the same evil grin making Shepard's jaw drop in surprise for she had heard of similar weapons in the past firing explosive charges, but not in a small pistol format as this one.

"How does it carry the charges for it doesn't look like it has space to carry them really?" she asked eying the pistol. Swann only laughed before tapping the glowing part once more before he easily snapped the part off showing it to her.

"It actually doesn't carry the charges internally instead instead it uses omni-gel from this cell to flash-forge the charges and each cell is able to build about sixty of the charges. The cells are also small enough that you can carry more then enough to last for awhile," Swann mentioned snapping the cell back into place onto the weapon while Shepard once again picked her jaw from the floor. For while she was aware of top-of-line combat omni-tools were capable of doing the same thing with omni-gel, she had never even heard of something the size of a pistol capable of that. She shook her head before eying the pistol with a small smile.

"I believe I can understand why everyone loves it for it for it would make a good secondary weapon for me," Shepard replied watching as Swann placed it back onto the weapon bench with a chuckle before he picked up the third weapon, the M-300 Claymore.

"Alright I am sure you are quite familiar with this weapon. Unlike the one you used during your hunt for Saren it is not scaled for humans. Instead it sports a similar gyro to your Mattock which prevents the recoil from snapping your bones when you fire it. Though it still will kick very hard even with the gyro so be warned," Swann explained making Shepard look impressed like he mentioned the Claymore she carried during the hunt for Saren was built from scratch for the use of humans and while it did not sport the heavy firepower of the original it still was quite powerful when compared to other human-built shotguns. Therefore having one that was still built for krogan but with a built-in gyro like that would give her some great close-range firepower when she needed it. Swann nodded at her before moving to the final weapon on the bench.

"Now we have this beauty, the M-11 Suppressor which is a pistol built entirely for stealth killing from the ground up. It doesn't have the bark of a normal pistol making it more of a whisper, it also fires a larger round then normal pistols. Basically I remembered your distaste for the suppressor kit for the M-2 and the M-5, and figured you will need a better weapon when you needed a bit more stealth during a mission. That said you really don't know where I managed to get that for these guys are quite rare and I personally have only seen around a handful in my career," Swann mentioned as he eyed the weapon before shaking his head and putting back onto the bench. Shepard meanwhile was the eying the weapon a bit more respect then she did before for Swann was right she never liked the modular suppressor attachment for the older M-2 Karpov or the newer M-5 Phalanx heavy pistol. They were clunky things that didn't really suppress the sound of the pistol all that much and only weighed the gun down.

"Now before we move on anymore questions for me?" Swann asked turning away from the weapon's bench. Shepard blinked before eying the rifles lined up in the nearby weapon locker before turning back to Swann.

"I take it those rifles are for the troops then Swann?" she asked nodding to the arms locker making the man beam with pride before move over to another gun bench which had one of those rifles half-dissembled on it.

"The M-95 Harrier was a joint project between myself and Lieutenant Williams. It is basically a mass produced counter-part to your older Mattock rifle. It sports the same gyro of your new Mattock, but not the new heat sink or scope. It sports three firing modes, three-round burst, single-shot, and semi-automatic fire. The Harrier has the same hitting power of the Mattock but can be used by those not used to the Mattock's disadvantages. It has become quite a favorite of the troops thanks to this and some of the former Alliance Marines have compared it to the old M-7 Lancer in ease of use but still sporting a hefty punch," Swann explained as he finished assembling the rifle making Shepard nod pleased that any troops she commanded in the field would have about the same firepower she sported with these guns.

"I take it these are new for I didn't see any when I was on board Minutemen Station?" Shepard asked for she didn't remember seeing any on the bodies of the security troops she had seen or in the hands of the handful of Lazarus Troops she saw in the shuttle hanger.

"Yeah these have only started to roll off the production lines during the last few days though the grunts have been practicing with those heavily modified Mattocks you most likely saw on the station. Therefore they should easily transfer over to the new Harriers with no trouble," he explained as he set the finished rifle onto the bench and turned back towards her.

"That said Cowgirl any other questions you have for me?" he asked nodding to the same weapon lockers she had been eying earlier.

"Yeah one more. What sort of have heavy weapons will the troops carry when they need them Swann?" she asked remembering the M-100 Grenade Launcher she had used during her escape from the station. Swann blinked at this before chuckling a bit before heading over to one of the other nearby weapon lockers that was locked shut before he quickly opened it showing off several ML-77 Missile Launchers lined up neatly in the locker.

"For heavy weapons we brought back the old ML-77 missile launchers that along with a handful of the smaller M-100 Grenade Launchers are quite a powerful addition to the troops if they need them. However for the extreme heavy metal, well I am sorry to say we don't have any in this armory right now but I am sure you will be able to see it later," Swann explained making Shepard nod in pleasure knowing if they ran into something like a Geth Armature or another armored vehicle they could engage with heavy weapons if needed. Though she wondered about this heavy metal Swann had mentioned but didn't push the man for the look in the man's eye said enough that whatever it was it would be good.

"Alright I believe that is all of the question I have for you Swann. That said what sort of armor do you have for me?" she asked the man nodding to the armor lockers that were opposite of the weapon lockers. The man could only cackle in glee at this before leading her over to the mentioned armor lockers and stopping in front of one which sported a simple N7 flash painted on the door much to her amusement. Swann quickly entered a code into the small keypad built into the door and watched as the door slid open hardly a whisper before waving at the armor proudly displayed in the locker.

"I like to introduce you Shepard to the T8-III Inferno Modular Combat Armor System," the man mentioned a with gleam in his eyes while Shepard could only stare at the armor in some surprise for while it did look similar to other combat armors she seen over the years since she joined the Alliance Marines, it did sport an advanced look about it that made it seem like it was different to any normal armor. She eyed the armor from the full face helmet to the boots noticing the N7 flash on one side of the breast plate which anchored the Lazarus emblem on the other side of the breast plate. She then noticed the white and black paint scheme similar to that of the other Lazarus armor suits she seen. After a few moments of further inspection she turned to look over at Swann standing at her side.

"Impressive but what is so special about it?" she asked making Swann only chuckle before reaching into the locker and retrieving the armor's helmet.

"This is basically our version of the Alliance Special Operations T7-N Series Combat Armor therefore we have several different modular additions including a couple different helmets and other armor pieces. Each one adds something different to the armor, like integrated amps for biotics and other goodies. This particular set has been specially created for you drawing on my experience with your old N Series armor. The helmet sports a full Heads-Up Display which I mentioned can be linked up with your gun scope, an advanced tactical radio, a brand new sensor suite, and the cherry on top a Class-One Combat VI which provides you with needed tactical data," Swann noted with a small smile knocking on the top of the helmet. Shepard was once again surprised and eyed the helmet turning to the rest of the armor wondering what other surprises it sported.

"As for the rest of the armor well it sports a new hyper-carbon armor material which gives you a thirty-percent increase in armor protection. The backplate carries a newly developed battery core which power a series of a resistor mynomers that can give you the strength of a Geth Trooper Platform. There is also a new Kinetic Barrier emitter array built-in throughout the armor that allows you to temporary overclock your barriers like a Geth Prime can which increases your defenses even more," Swann said illustrating an interesting picture to Shepard who could only stare at the armor with some shock before turning back to Swann and eying the helmet still in the man's hands which the man noticed and only grinned at her.

"Another feature of the Helmet is that thanks to the full-face shield is that you have a larger viewing radius then normal Helmets. Not to mention this helmet can retract into your armor's collar when you don't need it though the VI can activate it immediately upon detecting any threat," Swann noted making Shepard nod in understanding since she wasn't a fan of wearing helmets for she didn't like blocking her peripheral vision not to mention playing havoc on her spatial awareness. She did wear them when they were required but for the most part she went without the helmet. Swann has eased some of her concerns though for the full-face shield like that would still allow her to have some peripheral vision after all not to mention the choice of retracting the helmet sounded like a good idea.

"Alright I believe I took enough of your time Swann, let's get me suited up and armed for I do have an attacked colony to investigate after all," Shepard ordered making the armory chief nod in understanding before turning to the armor locker.

"Yes ma'am!" he returned before starting to drag out the various pieces of armor and setting them onto a nearby bench while Shepard got ready to suit up in the armor.

Several moments later saw her suited up in the new armor and quietly accepted the helmet from Swann before quickly donning it and locked it to her armor's collar. After she did so she was quite surprised to find that the face shield wasn't that big of a problem that she thought it would be. With a small buzz sound the helmet's HUD started to boot up making her blink in shock for it was quite superior over the simple HUD she was used to in a standard T7-N Series Helmet. It showed not only barrier strength, armor integrity and an icon for her weapons but showed several further features that she would have to get used too.

"Please Stand By. EVE-Series0001 Combat VI starting up," a soft feminine voice spoke in her helmet almost making her jump in surprise before nodding remembering Swann mentioning the Combat VI. However that really didn't sound like any VI she was used too, it almost sounded like the Prothean VI she talked to on Illos.

"Welcome Ma'am, I am the EVE Combat VI and ready for your orders," the VI mentioned with that same soft feminine voice making her wince before she took a deep breath and nodded.

"Alright thank you EVE, I am kind of new to having a Combat VI like you riding around in my helmet so it should take awhile before I am used to it enough to use you correctly," she explained kind of feeling a bit silly talking like that to a VI even a powerful Class-One like EVE.

"Understood Ma'am," EVE replied simply making Shepard raise an eyebrow before shaking her head once more and turning to Swann who was getting her weapons ready. She accepted each one before storing them on the weapon hardpoints on her armor before finally she was fully armed including eight thermal clips in a holder on her waist. Each weapon sported a small icon on her HUD which listed remaining shots before a thermal clip or cell needed to be replaced. With that done she turned once more to Swann and smiled at him from behind her faceplate.

"Thanks Swann and it was nice to see you once more. Now I have to head for the hanger," she mentioned nodding to the armory's main door.

"Understood ma'am I shall see you later, and good luck out there," the man fired back making her nod at him with a smile before making her way out of the armory and to the tram station once more. From there she easily managed to select the hangar and waited as the tram took off away from the station.

**Main Shuttle Hangar  
Safehold Freeport Station **

A few minutes Shepard found herself entering a small shuttle hangar similar to the one she had seen on-board Minuteman station. While she was on the tram she got use to the various options her new helmet provided her with, and in was surprised that the armor had a built-in combat Omni-Tool allowing her to control features of her helmet including the sensor suite and various displays that her HUD sported. With a small smile on her face she walked over to the armored forms of several Lazarus Troopers waiting for her by a single UT-49A Marmot Shuttle, the full-on combat version of the shuttle she had arrived at the station on. As she approached she noticed Ashley talking to a man wearing a slimed down pilot's combat suit and was surprised to see that Ashley was now wearing a similar armor suit to her own though a few pieces a bit different from her own. Shepard only nodded remembering Swann mentioning the armor was modular and several pieces could be swapped just like her old Alliance Special Forces Armor. She also noticed the form of Miranda Lawson leaning against the side of the shuttle in a slimed down combat suit similar to some suits she seen being used by Alliance Infiltrators. As she closer to the shuttle Ashley noticed her before turned to the gathered troops.

"Officer on Deck!" she barked out making the troopers quickly line up in front of her at attention making her nod seeing that every single one was fully trained. She noticed that each trooper was equipped with the same armor she seen before, and carried one of the new Harriers along with a secondary weapon wither a shotgun or pistol. She nodded at this before briefly inspecting the men noticing that two of them were Corporal Toombs and Private Fredericks though Fredericks now sported three chevrons of a Lance Corporal on his breastplate. She shook her head for she was sure that she seen that before but never really thought about it. After a moment she took a position in front of them and entered a brief command into her omni-tool which retracted her helmet.

"Alright troopers you all know our mission therefore I am not going to say anything on it, besides that whoever did this made a big mistake pissing off Marines like us. Once on the ground we need to move in to search for survivors or any clues on what happened to the colonists. That done we return to the shuttle and return," she ordered looking over each of the troopers and smiled slightly at the straightening each of the men did at her calling them Marines. For while Lazarus officially apparently called their main infantry Troopers they all were Alliance Marine-trained therefore had the hard-bitten pride of any other Marine. She nodded at this before turning to the man standing at attention next to Ashley.

"I take it you our pilot for this mission?" she asked him noting the flash of a fighter pilot patch on his combat suit.

"Yes Ma'am! Lieutenant Steve Cortez at your service," the man replied making her smile slightly before nodding and turning back to troopers.

"Move out and load up!" she called out and watched as they quickly boarded the shuttle before following behind them with Ashley at her side which felt like right after losing her at Virmire, meanwhile Miranda took her other side. She leaned towards the other woman with a sad smile on her face.

"It is really great to have you back Ash," she whispered making Ashley look over at her with a smile of her own on her face. Miranda could only smile herself at this for she was quite pleased with herself.

"Same here Skipper," she whispered back before bringing up her omni-tool and entering a few commands into it.

"That said I know how you like to know about the men under you therefore those are the files on these guys. You should have time to skim through them on the trip to the colony," Ashley explained as Shepard's own omni-tool light up at the transfer.

"Thanks Ash," Shepard replied before ordering her helmet to extend over her head once more so she read those files without them knowing. Once that was done she took a seat in the side-mounted seats and winced as the shoulder clamps of the seat lowered over her shoulders holding her into place. With that done the pilot Cortez nodded to her before donning his helmet and moving to the cockpit and quickly piloting the shuttle out of the hangar and into space before jumping to FTL heading for the Freedom's Progress Colony.

**-o-Chapter End-o-**

Well this chapter came out longer then I planned but it does cover what I wanted to basically explaining the weapons and armor of Shepard for this story and future stories of the set along with some back story with said armor and weapons. I originally planned on this chapter covering the beginning of Freedom's Progress but like I said it went on longer then I planned therefore the mission starts next chapter.

That said I like to mention that yes I am a big fan of the Mattock in game for I like how easily I can bring even the toughest enemy down with a few bursts of fire from a Mattock with either Inferno or Armor Piercing Ammo. In Mass Effect 3 the Harrier is just as good with some modification for it can drag up I notice therefore needs a recoil suppressor. Though lately I have started to use a fully upgraded M-7 Lancer which is pretty sweet for I don't have to worry about the damn clips with it. Not to mention I can spray all I want without having to run to find t-clips laying around behind my advance. Had to do that more then once in Mass Effect Two. I also have since become a fan of the Scorpion and use it interchangeably with the Mattock during Mass Effect 3. However I wonder how it carried the charges therefore figured I explain it somewhat in this story and got the idea from something I read from the first game that said Omni-Tools could produce Grenades or charges from Omni-Gel. Therefore the upper side of the Scorpion is a detachable cell that contains omni-gel.

I also changed the Inferno Armor and made it into a Lazarus copy of the N7 Armor, which I call T7-N Series Armor in this story thanks to it being used by every member of the Alliance Special Forces not just N7s. It shall replace the Cerberus Assault Armor inspired armor seen in earlier chapters while the regular Lazarus troops shall remain wearing the armor based on the Aegis Defense Armor from the Infiltrator Game.

Moving on, I am adding a full squad of troops for this mission since I am not really a big fan of the three-man teams you have in game therefore expect larger squads during the other missions while others would have an extra squad or two of regular troops supporting the main ground team during some missions. Like I mentioned happening on Virmire in the early chapters.

I would also like to mention that yes I added Rory Swann of Starcraft II fame into the story as Armory Chief for I never understood having a team member having a position like that when they would joining missions themselves therefore didn't have time to fully have the position of Armory Chief in my opinion. Same goes for the Executive Officer therefore Miranda will not be the XO of the _Normandy-II _I am sorry to say though she have a sort of command position which shall be revealed later.

With all that said I shall get to work on the next chapter. Till then.


End file.
